Writing implement



April 25, 1950 A. WEBER WRITING IMPLEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May l5, 1946 Arry lApril 25, 1950 A. WEBER 2,505,267

WRITING IMPLEMENT Filed May 15, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 tube 9. The jaws 34 are provided with teeth on their insides and having outside surfaces shaped as spherical calottes. The collet 33 is surrounded by a clamping sleeve 35 which, in certain limits, is axially movable relative to the jaws and which has a slight inside taper opening into a stepped enlargement 35a towards the muzzle-tube I8. Preferably, the jaws 34 and the clamping sleeve 35 are made of hardened steel. In order to press the ,jaws against lead 8 the tapered sleeve 35 is moved downwardly into engagement with the spherical surfaces of the jaws and in order to open the grip of the jaws the sleeve is moved upwardly, so that all the jaws may resiliently recede into the enlargement 35a. At a small distance lila below the collet 33 the muzzle-tube IIJ is xed in the sliding tube I I and extends with its externally tapered muzzle 33 beyond the same. The muzzle 33 is axially slitted and has formed internally a passageway 35a for maintaining the lead 8 therein without clearance.

In the tip 5 the barrel part 3 is provided with a central bore 31 whereinto is fitted a point 38 made of very hard material, such as steel, cemented carbides, or jewel, which point may be used for marking or writing on surfaces, especially hard surfaces, wherefor the ordinary leads would not be adapted. The hard point also protects the Vmuzzle against deformations due to shocks or impacts of the tip against hard surfaces. The point or pin 38 is exchangeable and may be rounded at one end and pointed at the opposite end. Above -each channel exit E the barrel part 3 is provided 'with a colo-r mark 39 referring to the color of the `lead 8 in said channel 6.

In order to move a selected lead carrier 9 from -retracted position into writing position, the user of the pencil contacts the corresponding sliding tube i I with a nger tip through the correspond- -ing aperture 4 and moves it forward against the down along the inner surface of the neck I3 greaches the gap between the extensions 4`Meanwhile, catch ring 24 travels down along the inside taper of a bushing 40 which is xed in the jbarrel tube 2 and provides a downwardly directed shoulder 4I which will engage the catch ring, when carrier I is completely deviated. It is to be `understood that the movement of carrier 'I is controlled by the slitted bottom Iila of neck i3, vfthe recess 28 of support 2l and the channel 3 in Athe lower barrel part 3. The engagement of catch ring 24 with shoulder 4I maintains carrier "I against the action of the tensioned resetting lfspring 25 in writing position even after the finger ftip has been lifted off the sliding tube iI.

By pressing the head I2 ofthe pencil upon the must be pressed down against the action of the resetting springs 25 cf the carriers which are in retracted position and tend to restore the head I2 to its lifted position, because the tension of each resetting spring in retracted position of the coordinated carrier is such that the carrier is pressed with its upper end against the inner side of the head I2. If there are several or all carriers simultaneously in writing position they will be retracted all together, when the head is sufiiciently pressed down so that all the bevelled edges 42 of the neck I3 move the carriers towards the barrel axis.

barrel I the lead carrier 'l will be reset from writx The lead carrier 'I may be rotated about its axis by rotating the sliding tube II at the aperture 4 by means of a finger tip so that it will be possible, when using the pencil, to reduce or prevent the flattening of the lead point by rotating the same about its axis. In the range of the apertures 4 the external surface of the barrel part 3 is smooth, while the surface of the sliding tube I I is knurled. When in writing position the tip of the forefinger is pressed partly upon the knurled surface and partly upon the smooth one. This finger tip will successively glide over the smooth surface on account of the ability of the knurled surface to rotate. The gliding motion of the nger tip occurs almost unconsciously and causes aslow rotation of carrier 'I and lead 8 about their axis.

When the lead point of carrier 'I which is in writing position, is worn down the lead 8 may be fed out through the passageway 36a by touching the sliding tube II through the aperture 4 and drawing the same together with the muzzle tube I0 backward by about the length of the space Illa between tube I0 and jaws 34 against the action of the spring 32. As the lead 8 is held fast by the jaws 34 the passageway 36a of a tube I0 glides back on the lead 8. Then the upper end of tube I0 contacts the clamping sleeve 35 protruding slightly beyond the jaws 34 and pushes it upward, whereby the jaws 34 recede all at once into the enlargement 35a of the sleeve 35, thus releasing the lead 8. A sudden jerk in opening the jaws 34 is useful in order to detach the jaws completely from the leadand to permit particles it may have splintered oi the lead to fall out of the teeth of the jaws. When the sliding tube II is released spring 32 will push it forward, whereupon the passageway 36a will carry the lead along until the clamping sleeve 35 is returned by a downwardly directed shoulder 43 of the inner surface of the tube I l into yclamping position, wherein the jaws 34 are again pressed vagainst lead 8.

However, spring 32 is so designed that its pressure alone is insufcient to press the jaws 34 by means of the slightly tapered clamping sleeve 35 suiciently against the lead to resist to all writing stresses. When the selected carrier 'I is advanced from retracted position into writing position the moving force of the nger acting upon the sliding tube II overcomes the tension of resetting spring 25 and acts simultaneously in the direction of an advance of clamping sleeve 35 relative to the jaws 34, whereby the clamping 4pressure upon the jaws and accordingly upon lead 8 is increased. The resetting spring 25 is so designed that when carrier 1 is advanced beyond its writing position, whereby catch ring 24 departs downward from shoulder 4I, the coils of spring 25 will soon be pressed upon one another and the lead-holding tube 9 will thereby be stopped, whereas the sliding .tube II may be furiently`v lhigl'ilto clamp f barreiaxis islimitedito `au angle'ortoo wigs. 2

and 3) AOntlief'r'fecllzfl3ftherf`are providedtolor f `marks Enfin' acordano'wtl'i"position' -and Color of the marks 39 on the barrelfpart 3. The cylin- 'drical portion ofthe innerfc'ap Y'I 5 covers" the color mar'ks-l 53j buthasr formed 'therein 'a slit 5 yI wherein;uponfrotation'fhthe vcaps I 4 and I 5 incoun- Aterc'locliwse direction; 'as fseen" in' Fig.` `."fthat niark5"appear`s"which indieates thecolor ofthe '"lead 8in that carrierl, abvefwlich'thebore 41 is located at thefmorhnt. lm'Wh'er'i aeoloedV lead *8' is to 'belled-into' the carrier 'Iprovided for 'this color, at first'o'ap I4',fwhich"may have a iknurled edgelwill be rotated in countercloclrwi-se direction untilthe corresponding color mark 50 appears'in'the sli1l 5I.L Th'e'hole 41 of the inner "fcap rI5is then vexactly abovethe upper end of f the 'sele'ct'edleadholding tube 9 which will auto-v j'rriatically be3 moved intothis" hole'4'l 'under the ffaotion of the resetting's'pring 25, but may downwardly'recde duetov its rounded y'shaperin case that the'hoie 41 isrotated further on. In' orde;-

'fto establish' `coinciderice fbetween the "twof bores 146 'andll'l the outer ye`apV`I4- is 'then-'turned in clockwise direction thro'uifgh an angle 4ofy 90 f whereupon thef'selecteditube 9'will automatically i passl with its upper" end, vunderfthe action of spring '25,5- through" thewhole '4I` until catch ring `*1"24'is stoppedy *by* the bottom -I 9a. The lead 8 fmay Vthen` easily be inserted int the lead-holding time'v 9. 'After ardwtub'e sfwiu'bereturned'into thno'rmalpos n ing'` the slidrespectit/"ely,` than tube iIl).

on'efa'ndthesam" writing -irnplement'lintwo dif- 'ffflwilijffbef-maarmy)tartine thewhatleapl 441m metal pin 6I (Figswhichhasabout the-'same diameter as the lead 8 andwhichhasformfed at its upper endan eiilargeolheadl 62. In usualwriting position of theipencilgthe pirrl presses'ido'wn with its own weight upon the leadand may conl stitute, consequently an intermediate i' member VJbetween the lead f"eedingfmechanism andthe'l'ead 'when the'l'atter has leftthe jaws 345m order to transmit the feedingaction`4 upon that lead. The "lead' 8 maybe used downto the f-veryve'ndf and,

2 3' when it'has vleft the passageway 35a of'the muzzle tube yl 0 the* metal `pinet I will appear linsteadjdn- "dicating to Athe Vuser'othe'pencil rthat a new lead must be filled-in. e

" Obviously', in thelip'encilf embodying vtl'ieprinci- 5m" ples ofthe invention,inre"thanone'lead cari-ier "I may bein writingposition at thefsame time and iongitudinal axis; mthharidof the user; it wm loe-possible to use ijrief'or-antherbthe rleads or p5 two *leads `simultaneou`sly, if `desi-red. When Aus- "ng the'pencillinvertical position'r'elatve to the writing surface itwill be lp'os'sible"to use more [than 'two' leadssimultaneously. e

*The lead carriers 1 rnay-'occu'py aretracted or w normal' positionwherein l"they 'are not' parallel to the barrel axis, as shown in the drawingsjbut at a slightinclinatiorrelative'tosaid laxis.

1551';centricallyarranged and ira'nipulated'wasv above j described AiTh'e marking pointSf ofhardffmate- Y --rialrnaybeomitted.

f I`1c show, the'o'arrier vmaycomprise two parts, a

supporting tube'52ff whichr'is 'similarly designed 'andhas similar functionsas theupper half ofthe lead-holding tube 9, and atubularlcontainei" 53 they supporting' -tube- 52 'prevents=thelatte1` from /rotatingwhen the v'container which is: exchangeable will be-screwedror unscrewed.

` Apparently, there''maybe manufactured; Writ- 55" ving 'implements according to this invention which 7 areexolusively 'equipped with containers for iluid However# in th-inea@ lz vspare leads which could be filled in or removed therefrom through the holes 46 and 41 of the head i2 in the same manner as described in connection with the loading of the lead-holding tubes 9.

What is claimed is: y

l. A writing implement comprising a cylindrical barrel including a plurality of tubular passages parallel to and distributed symmetrically around the barrel axis, and, in each of said passages a tubular writing material carrier rotatable in the corresponding passage and axially `displaceable therein between a writing position in which its tip projects from the front end of the corresponding passage and a portion thereof near the tip is supported rotatably without substantial play in the lower part of the passage, and a retracted position in which its tip is withdrawn into the barrel.

2. A writing implement comprising a cylindrical barrel including a plurality of tubular passages parallel to and distributed symmetrically around the barrel axis, and, in each of said passages a tubular writing material carrier rotatable in the corresponding passage and axially displaceable therein between a writing position in which its tip projects from the front end of the corresponding passage and a portion thereof near the tip is supported rotatably without substantial play in the lower part of the passage, and a retracted position in which its tip is withdrawn into the barrel, said barrel being provided intermediate its ends with a plurality of slot shaped apertures, one for each passage, the lateral edges oi each aperture being disposed in a plane containing a chord of the corresponding tubular passage, whereby part of the outer surface of each carrier is exposed in the corresponding` aperture and can be manipulated through said aperture for axial displacement or for rotation in its passage.

3. A Writing implement, as claimed in claim 2, in which the lateral edges of each aperture are disposed in a plane containing a, chord of the corresponding tubular passage extending at right angles to the radius of said barrel through the center of the corresponding passage and having a length corresponding to about 90 of the periphery of said passage.

4. A writing implement, as claimed in claim 2, in which said slot shaped apertures are formed in the region of the barrel surface on which the tip of the index linger of a person using the implement would rest.

5. A writing implement comprising a cylindrical barrel including a plurality of tubular passages parallel to and distributed symmetrically around the barrel axis, in each of said passages a tubular writing material carrier rotatable in the corresponding passage and axially dis'placeable therein between a writing position in which its tip projects from the front end of the corresponding passage and a portion thereof near the tip is supported rotatably without substantial play in the lower part of the passage, and a retracted position in which its tip is withdrawn into the barrel, a resetting spring for each carrier acting between a part of thev barrel and a part of said carrier to urge the latter into its retracted position, each resetting spring being rotatable with the corresponding carrier, a catch ring on each carrier, a projection on the inner wall of each passage, means to move each carrier upon displacement thereof from its retracted to its writing position to a lock position in which said Cil projection engages said catch ring and locks the to its retracted position under the force of said resetting spring.

6. A writing implement as claimed in claim 5, in which said means for moving each carrier to its lock position includes an element rigid with 4said barrel and having an inclined surface, supports for the lower ends of said resetting springs resting slidably on said inclined surface, and each embracing one of said carriers at a point remote from its tip so as to displace a portion of said carrier radially in one direction when said spring is compressed, and said manually operated means includes a cam element for cooperation with a portion of each carrier to move the same positively in the opposite radial direction.

7. A writing implement, as claimed in claim 5, in which said manually operated means includes a closing head reciprocable in the upper end of the barrel and including a cam surface for cooperation with the upper end of each carrier locked in its writing position to disengage the catch ring on said carrier from the projection to which it is locked.

8. A writing implement comprising a cylindrical barrel including a plurality of tubular passages parallel to and distributed symmetrically around the barrel axis, in each of said passages a tubular writing material carrier open at its top, a closing head for said barrel having a rotatable cover portion provided with an eccentric hole at such a distance from the axis of rotation that it can be aligned with each of said carriers, and means for closing said hole.

9. A writing implement, as claimed in claim 8, in which said head includes two superposed caps rotatable relative to the barrel and, at least to some extent, relative to each other, each cap being provided with an eccentric hole arranged in such a manner that said holes can be brought in alignment with each other and with each selected one of said carriers.

10. A writing implement comprising in combination with a barrel provided with a tubular passage a lead carrier axially displaceable in said tubular passage, said lead carrier including a lead holding tube, a sliding tube reciprocable endwise on said lead holding tube, and a muzzle tube rigidly iitted in said sliding tube.

l1. A writing implement comprising in combination with a barrel provided with a tubular passage a lead carrier axially displaceable in said tubular passage, said lead carrier including a lead holding tube, a sliding tube reciprocable endwise on said lead holding tube, a muzzle tube rigidly ii'tted in said sliding tube, said lead holding tube terminating towards the muzzle in lead gripping jaws which are resilient in planes including the axis of the tube, and an inwardly and downwardly tapered clamping sleeve disposed between said jaws and said sliding tubes, said clamping sleeve being axially slidable to a limited extent relative to said lead holding tube and to said sliding tube.

l2. A writing implement, as claimed in claim 1l,` in which Vsaid clamping sleeve extends in clamping position towards the muzzle beyond said lead gripping jaws, and said muzzle tube is formed with a shoulder adapted to cooperate with said clamping sleeve in order to move the latter out of its clamping position when said sliding tube is displaced in upward direction.

' wardly projecting shoulder for engaging said clamping sleeve, and a spring operating between said sliding tube and a projection on said lead holding tube urges said sliding tube and with it the clamping sleeve downwardly into clamping position.

15. A writing implement as claimed in claim 1i, in which said sliding tube is formed with an inwardly projecting shoulder for engaging said clamping sleeve, and a spring operating between said sliding tube and a projection on said lead holding tube urges said sliding tube and with it the clamping sleeve downwardly into clamping position, the lead holding tube and the sliding tube being provided with cooperating stops to prevent the clamping sleeve from being pushed entirely beyond the lead gripping jaws even if there is no lead held by the said jaws.

16. A writing implement, as claimed in claim 11, in which said muzzle'tube has an externally tapered muzzle which is axially slit and has formed internally a passageway for guiding a lead therethrough without play.

17. A writing implement comprising ajcylindrical barrel including a plurality of tubular pas'- sages parallel to and distributed symmetrically around the barrel axis in each of said'` passages a. tubular writing material carrier rotatable in the corresponding passage and axially displaceable therein between a writing position in which its tip projects from the front end of the corresponding passage and a portion thereof near the tip is supported rotatably without substantial play in the lower part of the passage, and a retracted portion in which its tip is withdrawn into the barrel, said barrel having a pointed lower end provided between the exit openings of said passages with a tip of a material the hardness of which exceeds that of the barrel material to protect said openings and to Serve as a marking point.

18. A writing implement, as claimed in claim i7, in which said hard tip at the front end of the barrel is formed by a pin which is exchangeably mounted in said barrel.

ALEXANDER WEBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 940,247 Haring 1 Nov. 16, 1909 1,528,687 Nyman et al Mar. 3, 1925 2,067,455 Maucher -Jan. 12, 1937 

